Cooperstown-Westville Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Cooperstown, New York 13326
Tuesady, August 3, 2004 14:55 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During the takeoff roll, the airplane veered sharply to the left. The pilot applied right rudder to realign the airplane on the centerline, and when the airplane did not respond, she "instinctively" pulled back on the controls to lift the airplane off the runway. Because the airplane "lacked adequate airspeed," immediately after rotation, it descended, and impacted the ground. The pilot stated that the correct action, "to pull the power back" and abort the takeoff, did not occur to her until it was too late. No mechanical deficiencies were observed with the airplane.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed and her premature rotation which resulted in an inadvertent stall/mush and subsequent impact with the ground.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/3/2004
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1455
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Cooperstown
Event State NEW YORK
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 13326
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 423745N
Event Location Longitude 0745327W
Event Location Airport Cooperstown-Westville Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID K23
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 1260
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1456 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 300
Weather Observation Facility ID UCA
Elevation of weather observation facility 742
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 38
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 28
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 20
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 260
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.8
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 18035
NTSB Notification Source Eastern Region Ops Center
NTSB Notification Date Aug 3 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1600
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jul 7 2005 10:33AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Albany FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N7957U
NTSB Number NYC04LA183
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 172F
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 17251957
Certified Max Gross Weight 2300
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection --
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Norma Hutman
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Oneonta
Aircraft Owner State NY
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 13820
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code K23
Departure City Cooperstown
Departure State NY
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1455
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code K23
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff - roll/run
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Apr 21 2005 11:46AM
User who most recently changed record PEAR
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 20
Runway Length 2600
Runway Width 125
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --